SAN DIEGO — Jets safety Jim Leonhard nearly created two turnovers yesterday. One was plenty.
That one was an interception of Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers late in the third quarter. The pick set up the Jets’ first touchdown in their 17-14 win and reversed the momentum of the game.
“It was huge,” Jets linebacker Bart Scott said of Leonhard’s interception, which gave his team the ball at the Chargers’ 16-yard line, “because it gave our offense a short field.”
CBS’ DIERDORF OFF BASE ON JETS-COLTS REMATCH
And the Jets took advantage, punching it in after Leonhard’s pick for a go-ahead touchdown when Mark Sanchez tossed a 2-yard scoring pass to Dustin Keller.
On Leonhard’s game-turning interception, the Chargers were pinned near their own end zone, and on a second-and-9 from the San Diego 5-yard line, Rivers tried to find his star tight end, Antonio Gates.
It didn’t work.
“We finally got ’em backed up and we got to get some pressure on ’em,” Leonhard said. “And he got flushed out of the pocket and he ended up throwing it right to me.”
Leonhard picked the pass off for unquestionably his biggest play as a Jet — and one of the biggest plays of Gang Green’s season.
“It was huge,” Leonhard said. “Our offense needed a spark and luckily I was the guy that could help provide that.”
Earlier in the game, Leonhard also nearly created another big turnover. In the second quarter, the Chargers had the ball on first-and-10 from their own 38. Rivers hit Malcom Floyd on a 12-yard completion, but the Jets safety smashed the San Diego receiver, causing a fumble that Leonhard also recovered at midfield. The Chargers, however, challenged the call and surprisingly won the challenge to overturn the fumble and maintain possession.
Leonhard is in his first season with the Jets, and his arrival was part of the Rex Ryan-led influx from Baltimore. Scott also came aboard, and so did defensive lineman Marques Douglas.
Playing all 16 games, Leonhard racked up 76 tackles, along with 2½ sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. That’s a pretty strong return on the Jets’ investment in the 27-year-old — especially when you consider that he’s just 5-8 and 186 pounds.
“He’s a playmaker,” Scott said. “He’s one of those people that people don’t know but they’re going to start to know.”